10 San Diego Uptown News | Feb. 18-Mar. 3, 2011
FEATURE By Frank Sabatini Jr.
eyes, spin around three times and throw a strand of fettuccine in the air. Chances are that it’ll land on the doorstep of one of Uptown’s many Italian restaurants, which have proliferated over the past several years faster than you can gulp down a plate of gnocchi. From fast and casual to modern and elegant, Uptowners can now savor saucy meals from "the motherland" without trudging further south than Bankers Hill. For University Heights resident Bill Patterson, the surge of Italian kitchens is nirvana to the taste buds.
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“I love Italian food and I also like walking wherever I go as much as possible,” he said. “I’m a longtime fan of Taste of Italy, but now I’ve been rotating between that and Buonissimo2 a few doors away. And I think that Olivetto (in Mission Hills) is also making some great Italian food at reasonable prices.” Atmosphere takes precedence
for Kelly Terry, a City Heights resi- dent who prefers Italian restaurants in Uptown over those in Little Italy and the Gaslamp District because, “they’re less touristy with more of a neighborhood feel to them,” she said. “I love Cucina Urbana and I’m looking forward to trying Apertivo at its new North Park location.” For restaurant owners stirring their marinara in Uptown kitchens, many say they’ve skipped over
an Diego’s “pasta central” used to be confined largely to Little Italy. But close your
other areas because Uptown neigh- borhoods generate devoted patron- ages more quickly while allowing proprietors to dodge the high rents of Little Italy and Downtown. “We would have never found
an affordable space in Little Italy,” says Daniel Sepulveda, assistant manager of Sanfilippo’s in Hill- crest, which recently reopened a few blocks away from its former address after serving Sicilian-style casseroles and pasta dishes for 35 years. “We wanted to stay right here in this neighborhood because this is where our customers want us to be.”
General Manager Alfio Conti of the new Origano shares his appeal for Hillcrest. “We’re here because we love
this area. The customers are diverse and there’s a lot more foot traffic compared to other neigh- borhoods.” With some of Italy’s best re- gional dishes now only a fork-twirl away, San Diego Uptown News has compiled them into a handy guide for when those inevitable hanker- ings for pasta and Parmesan strike.
CHARISMA 142 W. University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103 209-3636
Operated by a family from Naples, the modernly designed restaurant accented in black and red starts you off with complimen- tary bowls of green lentils stepped in olive oil. The menu gives way to
92101 Charisma
some hard-to-find classics such as house-cured sardines served with fire-roasted peppers; lasagna with béchamel sauce; and risotto balls filled with ground beef and peas.
IL POSTINO
3959 30th St., San Diego, CA 92104
325-0809 Italy’s famous fish stew, ciop-
pino, resides here in all its glory with fresh clams and mussels contributing oceanic flavors to the dish’s base of light tomato sauce. Halibut is spared from its plainness with a zippy oregano sauce, while fettuccine takes on new life in a preparation involving lemon zest and proscuitto. The airy North Park restaurant is an offshoot of Arrivederci in Hillcrest (3845 Fourth Ave.), which offers 40 different daily specials and also operates La Pizzeria Arrivederci a block away (3789 Fourth Ave.).
CUCINA URBANA 505 Laurel St., San Diego, CA
Alfio Conti of Orgiano. with flashy presentations.
ORIGANO 3650 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA 92103
295-9590 This latest newcomer in
Hillcrest uses the “right spell- ing in Italian” for the herb in its name, insists co-owner Francesco Basile, who admits that a lot of people have been inquiring since the elegant restaurant opened in October. In addition to a litany of multi-regional Italian dishes that includes a hot-selling lamb osso bucco, the pizzas are made by a veteran Sicilian who brings to the stone oven 40 years of pizza-mak- ing experience.
BUONISSIMO2 1027 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103 704-1067 If you’re looking for authentic dishes from Italy’s best-known
239-2222 When restaurateur Tracy Bor- kum converted the long-established Laurel into a hip, artfully designed Italian restaurant last year, Uptown residents immediately started pour- ing in. And for good reason. The Bankers Hill hotspot offers crafty polenta boards draped in hearty ragouts, creative pizzas with farm- house twists, plus pasta and meat dishes that combine Italian cooking
Buonissimo 2 in Hillcrest.
food provinces, then you’ve come to the right place. Buonissimo2 in Hillcrest follows the lead of its original location, founded in the late 60s in Torino, Italy. Customers will discover recipes preserved largely over generations by Italy’s working class, such as spaghetti carbonara, lasagna Bolognese, gratin potato cakes, homemade gnocchi and veal medallions with tuna sauce—a must-try. Museum- like displays of Italian memorabilia from the '60s and '70s pervade from the front dining room to the
Lamb shank and grilled veggies at Apertivo.
charming back patio.
APERTIVO ITALIAN TAPAS AND WINE BAR
2322 El Cajon Blvd., San Di- ego, CA 92104 220-0958
After disappearing from North Park’s 30th Street corridor for a year, Apertivo has re-emerged on
see Italy, page 11
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